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The history of Nigeria is replete with corruption. Kleptocracy is not only pervasive but it has also been assumed as institutionalized. Corruption has affected every facet of our national life permeating secondary schools, tertiary institutions, religious organizations (churches, mosques), government parastatals, judiciary and the political system.
A brief history of corruption in Nigeria, according to Mikky (2015), reveals that between 1960 and 1979, there was no obvious case of corruption in Nigeria. From 1979 to 1983, the economy was characterised by looting of public funds and properties. This led to the campaign for zero tolerance to corruption between 1984 and 1985. The years 1985-1993 witnessed a monumental increase in corruption and public funds were carted away by public servants. In one fell swoop, about $12 billion mysteriously disappeared. Within a space of five years, 1993-1998, an estimated $5 billion was stolen while about $2 billion was alleged to have been stolen between 1998 and 1999.
Other misappropriations that characterized the Nigerian economy include the diversion of the $16 billion voted for electric power projects between 1999 and 2007 and $2 billion meant for road projects. The outcry against corruption heightened from 2007 to 2010 in the country. In the 2011 election year, about N2.6 trillion was diverted from government coffers. With this persistent phenomenon of corruption in Nigeria, the Federal Government on August 1, 2017 set up the special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property.
Recovery of public property refers to the task of reclaiming of properties that have been wrongfully taken, stolen, fraudulently misappropriated or otherwise disposed of to remove them from their rightful owner. A chronology of public property recovery shows that it is not new to Nigeria. Decree no. 3, 1984, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004, and Recovery of Public Property (Special Provisions) Act 2004 ushered in investigation of the assets of any public officer who is alleged to have been engaged in corrupt practices, unjust enrichment of himself or any other person who has abused his office or has in any way breached the code of conduct for public officers contained in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
There has been mounting public outrage against public officers who have significantly increased their wealth during their time in office or hidden their asset through complex ownership arrangements. This corrupt practice is made possible in a kleptocratic government, where ‘thieves’ rule and misappropriate state funds at the expense of the wider population. Government officials attain personal wealth and political power without even the pretence of honest service. One, therefore, considers this special presidential investigation panel both timely and practical. A panel on the recovery of public property in Nigeria can help build a climate of integrity in public service, prevent abuse of power, and be an effective tool in the efforts to recover public property. Though recovery of public property is laudable, there are a number of issues that need to be addressed.
First is non-prosecution of looters of the national treasury, thereby making the anti-corruption war in Nigeria a laughing stock of the world. Another issue is on the activities and operations of the panel on the recovery of public property in Nigeria since its inception in November 2017. One is not oblivious of some controversies trailing the panel in the news media. According to Soniyi (2018), it has been reported that there is no gazette backing the establishment of the panel and the panel is accused of political witch-hunting of opposition political parties. There is also complaint on the legality of the panel to solicit and receive petitions from members of the public and also inviting citizens to fill asset declaration forms, which is said to be the constitutional preserve of the Code of Conduct Bureau.
On the legality of the panel, Decree No. 3, 1984, promulgated by the then military regime, confers necessary powers on the panel. However, the accusation of political witch-hunting is unfortunate. The government should ensure that members of the panel are unbiased and impartial in order to safeguard the success of the ongoing war against corruption.
Asset recovery has three main elements – identification, redeployment, and disposition – which can generate funds and goodwill. The Panel on Asset Recovery needs to take into cognizance these three elements of asset recovery for it to be efficient and effective. Furthermore, to ensure smooth and unbiased operations of the panel, it is advisable that the panel provides platforms for dialogue, collaboration with relevant stakeholders irrespective of ethnic or political affiliation, and also facilitate contact among different jurisdictions involved in asset recovery; for example, the stolen asset recovery initiative of the World Bank Group.
One hopes that stakeholders in the recovery of public property will find this submission a useful tool in guiding their decision making, and ultimately, to help Nigeria build more effective systems that improve accountability and transparency in the recovery of public property.
Francis Kehinde Emeni
Emeni is a professor of Accounting at the University of Benin and research fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.
